[GUB]

Not too many of these come up for sale in NZ. Bit expensive tho.
Pentax MV with 40mm Pancake | Trade Me

[Kiwi645hauler]

Not too many of these come up for sale in NZ. Bit expensive tho.
Pentax MV with 40mm Pancake | Trade Me

Not many come up that is for sure, 90% of the value is in that 40mm lens... I had to chuckle when the seller said its the smallest SLR ever... I regularly shoot an Auto 110... THATS the smallest SLR....

[richandfleur]

Bit of an aside, but I got the chance to hang out with a travel photographer in Vietnam recently, and he used a FF Sony A7 series camera, with an old school manual 40mm prime like this on it.

It very much reminded me of that same older style of body (no big DSLR grip of today) and it all seemed very natural/traditional. With the adjustable angle rear screen, and all the digital aids for manual focusing, I was really impressed.

Takeaway of the experience was the amount of prework you can do in what otherwise seems an extremely difficult shooting situation. By this I mean you can determine where the light is coming from, what angle gives you a clean background, composition etc in advance. And you can study peoples behaviours and routines in a busy market for example, and anticipate a situation ahead of it occurring, because someones been in and out of that door etc every 30 seconds unloading the next truck. Armed with all of that, you can do so much prep work before you engage a local (if that's even required for your shot). Was cool to see how this can happen without being a knob tourist getting in peoples way and poking a camera in their face for minutes at a time.

Knowing your camera and trusting the settings is another big area that you can then forget about too. For example finding and setting that Av ISO setting I mentioned earlier was a huge help in knowing I'd get a sharp shot, even in lower light situations.

Sorry, waffling over.

[Kiwi645hauler]

Bit of an aside, but I got the chance to hang out with a travel photographer in Vietnam recently, and he used a FF Sony A7 series camera, with an old school manual 40mm prime like this on it.

It very much reminded me of that same older style of body (no big DSLR grip of today) and it all seemed very natural/traditional. With the adjustable angle rear screen, and all the digital aids for manual focusing, I was really impressed.

.

The amount of mirrorless bodies like the A7 that are being used with old adapted MF lenses is incredible. The Sony's especially are popular with Pentax and Leica lenses adapted due to their sizes and they make GORGEOUS images

[richandfleur]

The amount of mirrorless bodies like the A7 that are being used with old adapted MF lenses is incredible. The Sony's especially are popular with Pentax and Leica lenses adapted due to their sizes and they make GORGEOUS images

Agreed. The last manual focus Pentax lens I sold went to a non Pentax body owner. They're great lenses, and on a personal note I'm a bit sad I can't get great video with them on my Pentax body.

Originally that was a huge Pentax plus, having kept the K mount for years and all the lenses being compatible. Now mirrorless can do this with lots of brands via cheap but capable adaptors.

I guess I just found it funny that mirrorless cameras look more like the older cameras than DSLR's do now. The likes of the MV and K1000 cameras etc had no moulded grips, and somehow we survived




Another aside, but I used a neoprene wrist strap whilst away. Meant I was holding the camera all day long, but it felt very safe and less clumsy than the traditional tourist neck strap.

[GUB]

The second thing I learned... well... was actually not to play with settings and then forget about them. I was out at the airport shooting away and noticing (but not really thinking too hard about) an odd shutter behaviour, where every release sounded like 1/3 or so when the data was clearly showing a sprightly 1/750. It eventually dawned on me I was using the electronic shutter. Turns out (and it's obvious if I think about it) that it's not the best choice for a moving, propeller-driven aircraft.

Try it with the K1 !! This steam punker was just idling past - read somewhere it takes 1/5 sec to scan

[GUB]

Ummm Pete the 110 was a reflex camera!

Attached Images

 

[zkarj]

Another aside, but I used a neoprene wrist strap whilst away. Meant I was holding the camera all day long, but it felt very safe and less clumsy than the traditional tourist neck strap.

I've got a Black Rapid shoulder/chest strap for mine, which I find almost perfect for long carries like at an air show. But lately, I was finding it a bit of a chore for quick outings, so was going "naked" but using a death grip on the camera – also a chore. I then asked my wife if she had one of those simple carabiner straps like I remember on the old 110 Instamatic. Yup. Now I'm still carrying the camera by the grip most of the time, but the death grip isn't needed. I also figured a way to hold the barrel of the 55-300 with the strap at full stretch, so the whole thing is essentially resting on my hand and no actual grip is required.

Try it with the K1 !! This steam punker was just idling past - read somewhere it takes 1/5 sec to scan

My brain can't process how you can have a 1/750 electronic shutter if it takes 1/5 to scan the sensor. In fact, the only reason I was mucking around with the setting was because the ES goes faster than the MS and I was wondering just what one could do with 1/8000.

[GUB]

I've got a Black Rapid shoulder/chest strap for mine, which I find almost perfect for long carries like at an air show. But lately, I was finding it a bit of a chore for quick outings, so was going "naked" but using a death grip on the camera – also a chore. I then asked my wife if she had one of those simple carabiner straps like I remember on the old 110 Instamatic. Yup. Now I'm still carrying the camera by the grip most of the time, but the death grip isn't needed. I also figured a way to hold the barrel of the 55-300 with the strap at full stretch, so the whole thing is essentially resting on my hand and no actual grip is required.


My brain can't process how you can have a 1/750 electronic shutter if it takes 1/5 to scan the sensor. In fact, the only reason I was mucking around with the setting was because the ES goes faster than the MS and I was wondering just what one could do with 1/8000.

If you think about it, it is not that different from the mechanical shutter. That shutter doesn't just go faster for a faster exposure - rather it closes the gap between the curtains so as it travels across the sensor each pixel is exposed for a given amount of time. (At least that is how it worked in the film days - presume it is still roughly the same. It is vertical now isn't it?)

[Class A]

It is vertical now isn't it?

Yes, for most cameras the shutter curtains travel from top to bottom.

Some cameras, for instance the K-1, have a reversed motion. Their shutter curtains rise from bottom to top.

@zkarj
GUB's explanation regarding the slow scanning vs fast shutter speed is correct. Just imagine that that the whole sensor is normally insensitive to light. Light can shine on it, but it won't result in any exposure. Now imagine a small dwarf prying open a small horizontal slit at the top of the sensor for a very short time (say 1/750s). Then the dwarf moves one row down and prys it open for 1/750s as well. The dwarf is rather slow, so it takes the dwarf 1/5s of a second to pry open all the rows from top to bottom. By the time the dwarf has reached the bottom of the sensor, the scene will have changed if there are any moving objects. This leads to the crazy "rolling shutter" distortions" as you are not seeing the same scene for 1/750s, but many scenes, each for 1/750s.

[GUB]

Yes, for most cameras the shutter curtains travel from top to bottom.

Some cameras, for instance the K-1, have a reversed motion. Their shutter curtains rise from bottom to top.

@zkarj
GUB's explanation regarding the slow scanning vs fast shutter speed is correct. Just imagine that that the whole sensor is normally insensitive to light. Light can shine on it, but it won't result in any exposure. Now imagine a small dwarf prying open a small horizontal slit at the top of the sensor for a very short time (say 1/750s). Then the dwarf moves one row down and prys it open for 1/750s as well. The dwarf is rather slow, so it takes the dwarf 1/5s of a second to pry open all the rows from top to bottom. By the time the dwarf has reached the bottom of the sensor, the scene will have changed if there are any moving objects. This leads to the crazy "rolling shutter" distortions" as you are not seeing the same scene for 1/750s, but many scenes, each for 1/750s.

So rather than it being dust bunnies on the sensor it is actually dwarf droppings?

[Kiwi645hauler]

Ummm Pete the 110 was a reflex camera!

Indeed it is a reflex camera, looking through the front of my one there is a tiny mirror infront and a prism finder.....

[zkarj]

That shutter doesn't just go faster for a faster exposure - rather it closes the gap between the curtains so as it travels across the sensor each pixel is exposed for a given amount of time.

GUB's explanation regarding the slow scanning vs fast shutter speed is correct.

...

Now imagine a small dwarf prying open a small horizontal slit at the top of the sensor for a very short time (say 1/750s).

So rather than it being dust bunnies on the sensor it is actually dwarf droppings?

Thanks for the explanation guys. I knew it had to make sense. As for that dwarf — I'll be looking at his diet.

[zkarj]

I found this very informative. Though as close as I looked I couldn't see the dwarf.

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

[Class A]

Though as close as I looked I couldn't see the dwarf.

The dwarfs wears an invisibility cloak to avoid interference with the picture taking.